ninjago oneshots

frostbite

"i told you, i'm NOT this zane you speak of."

pixal blinked, an injured look flashing behind her eyes. the droid in front of her noticed this, but he didn't react, staring unblinkingly back at her.

it had been a few hours since crashing had messed up zane's memory system, making him believe that he was the notorious "ice emperor." somewhere inside of pixal, it hurt seeing this zane who wasn't really zane.

it was only a slight twinge in her circuits, but it hurt. a lot.

and oh, how he argued with her at any mention of their past. he was arguing with her now, not to anyone's surprise. cyrus borg and the others had left the room, going to "get something to eat," but pixal knew it was because they were sick of hearing the two of them go back and forth.

it wasn't pixal's fault that she kept answering the ice emperor, almost goading him on. deep down, she knew that it wasn't going to do anything. but still, a part of her whispered, maybe you can make him remember. you're the only one that can make him remember.

she was jolted out of her thoughts by the flickering of zane's appearance, from his normal appearance to the regal helmet of the emperor. "zane," she started, but he cut her off. again.

"i am NOT zane!" the ice emperor bellowed, flailing about in the restraints cyrus borg had put on him. "I DEMAND TO BE LET GO IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS ATROCIOUS TREATMENT, I DECLARE. SOLDIERS-"

he stopped abruptly at the look pixal was giving him, her green eyes sad again, a hopeless look behind them. a look that said, why? why won't you wake up and remember me?

so. this was her last ploy, her last attempt at making him remember. after this, she would hand him over to cyrus borg. 

pixal knew he might already have been himself if she had let cyrus handle it in the first place, but she refused to believe she couldn't help zane at all.

he was zane. they were compatible. she had half of his heart, after all. who was she if she couldn't help him?

"zane," pixal whispered. "please come back. please don't let me lose you."

zane's blue eyes, the ones that would have hinted at a smile, now stared back at her, as cold as the ice he wielded. 

"you never had me in the first place."

his eyes went blank as pixal stood, letting the power cord drop to the floor.

"i give up."

originally written feb 26 2023

i apologize if i've just ruined anybody's day with this uncalled for angst, but i've always thought that the scene where zane loses his memory and pixal can't do anything about it is so, so sad. and we know i can't resist angst. but. please let me know what you think!